Presser foot for sewing machines



June 25, 1929.

PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 9, 1926 ZSheets-Shget l June25, 1929.

J. BERGER 1.718.889

PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,7 aI. J r 4 l 16g 19 9 J J0 1 39 v Z1 (96 I 4. J9 i W ,5 F 3150: 7 7L ,3 lZ1 Z Z gmemtoz O 33w m aflioznut l atented June 25, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BERGER, OF UTICA, NEW YORK,

ASSIGNOR TO UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORPORATION 015 ILLINOIS.

PRESSER FOOT FOR Application filed July 9,

The invention rclatesto new and useful improvements in a presser footfor sewlng machines, and more particularly to a presser foot forfelling.

An object of the invention is to provide a presser foot having a channelextending lengthwise thereof for guiding the fabric sections forfelling, with means for engaging the enchained needle thread loops forholding the thread loops during chaining off.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot of theabove type wherein the means which holds the thread loops for chainingoff, also cooperate with the foot portion of the presser foot in thefeeding of the material during the stitching of the seam.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot of theabove type which may be used in connection with a multiple needlemachine, wherein the devices for engaging the thread loops associatedwith each needle are independent of each other, so that one of saiddevices may operate to hold the enchained loops while the other deviceis cooperating with the remaining portion of the foot in the feeding ofthe fabric.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of theinvention Figure 1 is a side view of a presser foot embodying myinvention; 7.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same; Fig. 8 1s a vertical sectional viewthrough the presser foot showing one of the chaining fingers in sideelevation;

Fig. 4: is a perspective view of one of the chaining fingers, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional View through the presser foot,lengthwise thereof, showing one of the stitching fingers in sideelevation, and with the material beneath the foot forming the felledseam; and I Fig. 7 is a similar view, but showing the material as passedfrom the foot, and themachine chaining off.

The presser foot of my invention is particularly designed for felling.Said foot conpivot.

SEWING MACHINES.

1926. Serial No. 121,425.

sists of a bracket portion and a foot portion proper which is pivotedthereto. The foot portion has a channel extending lengthwise andcentrally thereof. Said foot portion has an opening or a plurality ofopenings through which the needle or needles pass during stitching.Located inthe channel and pivoted to the foot portion is a chainingfinger. When one needle is used, only one chaining finger is present.When a' plurality of needles are used, then there is a chaining fingerfor each needle. This chaining finger is pivoted to the foot portion atthe rear end thereof, and is substantially flush with the bottom of thefoot portion adjacent its A spring carried by the supporting bracket forthe foot portion operates on said chaining finger to depress the forwardend thereof, and a suitable stop is provided for limiting the downwardmovement of the forward end of said finger. The forward end of thefinger terminates at the needle opening, and in fact, contains a portionof the opening. The lower forward end of the finger is slightly curvedso as to aid the finger in riding over the material. There is a solidportion of the throat plate directly in rear of the needle hole throughthe throat plate, and this finger engages the enchained loops inchaining off, and presses the same against the solid portion of thethroat plate, thus clamping the enchained loops and holding the same soas-to form perfect stitches, which are drawn up into a comparativelytight cord of enchained loops. This perfect control of. the enchainedloops insures that the stitching shall continue without skipping fromone stitched article to another, and this greatly increases the outputof the machine. When a plurality of needles are used, then there is astitch finger for each needle, and they are independently controlled, sothat one needle can chain off While the other is stitching, if desired.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,

my improved presser foot consists of a brackv et portion 1 which issecured to the lower end of a presser bar 2 and is held thereon by meansof a set screw 3. A foot portion 4 is pivoted at 5 to the bracket 1.Said foot portion is thus free to lift at its forward end to aid in theeasy passing of the material beneath the foot.

The foot portion 4 has spaced upstanding side members 6 and 7 whichextend up alongside of the lower portion 8 of the bracket 1. The

pivot pin 5 extends through these side portions 6 and 7 and through thelower portion 8 of the bracket 1. Said foot portion has a cross member 9which is located just beneath the bottom of the portion 8, and when thefoot is in horizontal position, this cross portion 9 en-. gages thebot-torn of the portion 8 and limits the further movement thereof. Saidfoot portion is provided with a channel 10, which extends from the frontto the rear end of the foot, and also up along the under face of thebent up toe 11 of the foot. This channel at the front end of the foot isfor the purpose of receiving and guiding the interfolded fabric sectionsfor felling. In Fig. 5 I have shown two fabric sections 12 and 13interfolded at 14 to form a felled seam. I have also shown in thisfigure the width of the channel in the foot, and these interfoldedportions of the fabric extend into the channel, and the side walls ofthe channel guide the interfolded sections of the fabric, so that theneedles will be properly positioned for penetrating the interfoldedsections. The presser foot 4 is provided, as shown in the drawings, withtwo needle holes 15 and 16, as the machine with which this presser footis intended to be used, is equipped with two needles 17, 17 asindicatedin broken lines in Fig. 1.

Toward the rear of the presser foot, the channel 10 is deepened, andlocated in the channel are two chaining fingers 18 and 19. Thesechaining fingers are exactly alike, and it will only be needed todescribe one of them. Thechaining finger consists of alower portion 20,an inclined portion 21- and a vertical portion 22. This chainin fingerhas an opening 23 therethrough, and a pivot pin 24 extendsthrough theside portions of the foot portion 4 and through the opening 23, thuspivotally securing the finger to the presser foot. This pivot is locatedat the heel or rear portion of the foot, and the bottom of the fingerbeneath the pivot pin 24 is substantially flush with-the bottom of thefoot 4.

The bracket 1 is provided with a'rearwardly extending portion 25. Thisis provided with slots, one slot for each stitch fin er, and thevertical portion 22 extends up into the slot in the portion 25 of thebracket.- A spring 26 located in the slot bearsat one end against thefinger, and at its other end against an ad justable. stop screw '27.This spring normally depresses the forward end of the stitch fin ger.The forward end of the stitch finger is enlarged as indicated at 28, andis provided with a slot or hole 29 which, in conjunction with the holein the foot completes the needle hole through the foot for the needle.In other words, this stitch finger extends along each side of the needleand terminates at a line near the front'of the needle. The lower forwardend of, the finger is curved as indicated at 30. The rear under face ofthe slot 29 is curved as indicated at 31. The curved portion 30 enablesthe stitch finger to pass on to the material when it is fed into themachine. The under face of the forward end of the stitch finger at thecentral portion thereof bears on the enchaincd thread loops betweenstitched articles. 1

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the throat plate 36 is provided with feedslots 32, 32, for the sections of the feed dog 37 which engage thefabric beneath the outer side portions of the presser foot. Said throatplate is provided also with a feed slot 33 for the sections of the feeddog 37 which feed the material underneath the presser foot. The throatplate is also provided with feed slots 34, 34 which are directly in rearof the needle holes in the throat plate. There is a solid portion 38 ofthe throat plate between the forward ends of the slots 34, 34 and theneedle holes 39 in the throat plate. The forward end of the stitchfinger presses the enchained thread loops S against this solid portionof the throat plate. In Fig. 6 I have shown on an enlarged scale, myimprovedpresser foot when operating to form a felled seam. In thisfigure, I have also shown the throat plate, feed dog, needles and theloopers Z, Z which cooperate with the needles. The stitch formingmechanism is of the usual character and has been illustrated merely toshow a little more clearly the position of the threads, particularlyduring chaining off, and the manner in which the enchaincd threads areclamped against the solid ortion of the throat plate. The needle threadsare indicated at n, a, and the looper threads at Z, Z, and the enchaincdthread loops at S. In Fig. 7 of the drawing, I have shown the machine aschaining off, that is,

forming interlocked thread loops between from pulling the enchaincdloops down into' the needle hole and thus disturbing the stitchformation. When, however, there is no fabric, then this anchoring of thethread loops does not take place. The stitch fingers now function toaccomplish the holding of the thread loops. As clearly shown in Fig. 7,the stitch finger bears down on the thread loops and .presses the sameagainst the solid portion 38 of the throat plate, and thus it is thatthe enchaincd thread loops are claniped, and when the needlepasses downthrough the needle hole on the next. stitch formation and pulls on thethreads, the thread loops cannot be drawn down into the needle hole, andtherefore, the stitch formation is not interfered with.

The stitch fingers cooperate with the other portions of the presser footin the feeding of the material during felling. As noted above, thestitch fingers in the region of the pivot 23, are substantially flushwith the lower face of the presser foot. The .body portion of thepresser foot is pivoted to the shank at 5. The interfolded parts of thefabric forming the fell, lie in the channel at the front end of thefoot. The stitch fingers will engage the interfolded parts of thefabric, and will lie in substantially horizontal position. -The rear endof the preser foot will be positioned so that it is at substantially thesame level as the upper face of the interfolde d portions of the fabric.This is due to the fact that the stitch fingers are flush with thepresser-foot at the rear end and cannot yield relative to the presserfoot directly beneath the pivot 24. The forward end of the presser foot,however, will move down so that the sides of the foot along. the channelengage the single thicknesses of fabric at the sides of the interfoldedparts of the fabric. This is due to the fact that the heavy spring ofthe presser bar forcing the presser bar shank downwardly, transmits itspressure to the foot portion directly beneath the pivot 5 which is wellin advance of the pivot 24. This brings about a position of the parts sothat the interfolded parts of the fabric lie in a channel and are guidedand held in interfolded relation until after they are stitched. Thechannel, in effect, decreases in depth until it finally vanishes at theheel of the foot. When the feed dog rises through the throat plate, thepresser foot as a whole, with the parts positioned as described, will'be raised and the material will be fed by the movement of the feed dog.The stitch fingers at this time are directly above the sections of thefeed dog in rear of the needles, and of course, will cooperate with thefeed dog in the feeding action.

When. there is no fabric passing through the machine, and the feed dogis lowered, then the main portion of the presser foot will lie in ahorizontal position, resting on the throat plate. At this time, thestitch fingers will clamp the enchained thread loops against the solidportion of the throat plate, as has already been described. When thefeed dog rises through the throat plate, the presser foot will be raisedthrough the engagement of the feed dog therewith. The yielding stitchfingers will cooperate with the feed dog sections directly in rear ofthe needles in the' feeding of the enchained thread loops, and at thistime, of course, the stitch fingers are lifted from the solid portion ofthe throat plate by the feed dog sections.

loops are formed, and then the next article passes underneath and isstitched. As the finished article passes from beneath the presser foot,it will, of course, hold the presser foot raised as shown in Fig. 8. Atthis time, the stitch fingers will bear against the solid portion of thethroat plate and hold the enchained thread loops during the stitchformation, and will cooperate with the feeding sections of the feed dogin the feeding of the enchained thread loops. The stitch fingers, atthis time, will pass beneath the surface of the main portion of thepresser foot, to function as stated. This is all clearly shown in Fig.3. "When a new article is fed beneath the presser foot, it will raisethe presser foot slightly from the throat plate, but at this time, thestitch fingers again pass below the surface of the main portion of thepresser foot in the region adjacent the needles, and will clamp theenchained thread loops during stitch formation, and will cooperate withthe feed dog in the feeding of the enchained loops until the threads areanchored in the fabric by the needles penetrating the same. It is notedthat during the forming of the enchained thread loops, the forward endof the stitch fingers bear against the enchained loops on the solidportion of the throat plate with a pressure derived from the springs 26and not from the pressure derived from the main operating spring bearingon the presser bar, and therefore, the gripping pressure on the threadsis much lighter, and while the enchained loops are gripped sufficientlytight to hold the same, the stitch fingers will not cut the threads.

The presser foot is shown as provided with two stitch fingers. This isfor a machine having two needles. It will be noted that these two stitchfingers are side by side and that they fill the channel in the bottomportion of the presser foot as to width. liVhile there are two stitchfingers, there are also two springs, one for each finger, and therefore,the fingers are independent of each other. In certain kinds of felling,the felling seam extends to the edge portion of the garment beingstitched and vanishes at the edge, and therefore, itis desirable thatone needle shall pass off from the edge of the felling seam before theother. When such an operation is performed, the needle, as soon-as itpasses out of the material, with my implate.

It will be noted that the tension on the springs 26 may be independentlyvaried by adjusting either of the screws 27, and thus it is that thepressure of the chaining ofi' fingers may be independently varied orregulated so as to properly control the enchained loops without cuttingthe thread.

It will be understood, of course, that more than two needles may beused, in which case the presser foot will be changed slightly and willbe provided with a needle hole for each needle and a chaining finger foreach needle.

It is obvious that minor changes'in the de tails of construction and thearrangement of the parts may be made without departing,

from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a foot portion having achannel extending lengthwise thereof for receiving and guiding theinterfolded portions of-the fabric 'rear of the needle opening sectionsfor felling, and means disposed in said channel and constructed so as tomove beneath the plane of the bottom of the foot and engage theenchained loops directly in 7 1n the foot for holding the same duringcha ning between articles while the fabric is beneath the foot.

2: A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a foot portion having achannel extending lengthwise thereof for receiving and guiding theinterfolded portions of the fabric sections for felling, means disposedin said channel and constructed so as to move beneath the plane of thebottom of the foot and engage the enchained loops directly in rear ofthe needle opening in the foot for holding the same during chainingbetween articles wh le the fabric is beneath the foot, said means alsocooperating at the rear of the foot in the feeding of the materialpassing beneath the foot during felling to the same extent as theremaining portion of the foot.

3. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a foot portion having aneedle opening and a channel extending lengthwise thereof for receivingand guiding the interfolded portions of the fabric sections for felling,a finger located in said channeland pivoted to said foot portionadjacent. the rear end thereof. said finger terminating at the needlehole in the foot, and means for vieldihgly depressing the forward end ofsaid finger.

4. A presser foot for sewing machines com-' prising'a foot portionhaving a 'channel extending lengthwise thereof for receiving and guidingthe interfolded portions of the fabr c sections for felling, a fingerlocated in said channel and pivoted to said foot portion adjacent therear end thereof, said finger terminating at the needle hole in thefoot, means for yieldingly depressing the forward end of tion adjacentthe rear end thereof, said chaining finger terminating at the needlehole in said foot, and a spring bearing against said finger fordepressing the forward end thereof.

6. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a supporting bracket, afoot portion pivoted thereto and having a channel extending lengthwisethereof for guiding the fabric sections for felling, a chaining fingerlocated in said channel and pivoted to said foot adj acent the rear endthereof, said chaining finger terminating at the needle hole in saidfoot, and a spring bearing against said finger for depressing theforward end thereof, said chaining finger at the forward end thereofhaving a slot forming a part of the needle hole in the foot so that theforward end of said chaining finger extends alongside of the needle andalso in rear of the needle so as to bear upon the enchained thread loopsduring chaining off directly in rear of the needle:

7. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a supporting bracket, afoot portion pivoted thereto and having a channel extending lengthwisethereof for guiding the fabric sections for felling, a chaining fingerlocated insaid channel and pivoted to said foot adjacent the rear endthereof, said chaining finger terminating at the needle hole in saidfoot, a spring bearing against said finger for depressing the forwardend thereof, said chaining finger at the forward end thereof having aslotforming a part of the needle hole in the foot so that the forwardend of said chaining finger extends alongside of the needle and also inrear of the needle so as to bear upon the enchained thread loops duringchaining oif directly in rear of the needle, the forward end of saidchaining finger at the under face thereof being curved so as to aid thechaining finger in passing on to the material.

8. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a supporting bracket, afoot portion pivoted thereto and having a plurality of needle holestherethrough, said foot portion having a channel extending lengthwisethereof on its under face for guiding the fabric sections for felling.independent chaining fingers for each needle pivotally mounted on saidfoot portion and forming the upper wall of the guiding channel in rearof the needle part of the respective needle holes, said chaining fingerson their under forward edges being curved, a spring for each chainingfinger for depressing the forward end thereof, and a stop for limitingthe downward movement of the chaining fingers when the press-.21

foot is raised.

9. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a foot portion, aplurality of independent chaining fingers mounted on said foot portionand adapted to engage cnchained needle thread loops in rear of theirrespective needles, independent spring means for depressing the forwardend of said chaining fingers, and independent means for varying thetension on the respective springs.

10. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a foot portion havinga channel extending lengthwise thereof for guiding the fabi ic sectionsfor felling, a finger located in said channel and pivoted to said footportion adjacent the rear end thereof, said finger terminating at theneedle hole inthe foot-,-

spring means for yieldingly depressing the forward end of said finger,and means for varying the tension on said spring.

11. A felling presser foot for sewing machines comprising a supportingshank and a foot portion pivoted to said shank, said foot portion havinga. needle opening therethrough and a channel in its under-face at theforward end thereof disposed so as to receive and guide theinterfoldedportions of the felled seam, said foot portion having asubstantially flush surface at the rear end thereof, and a portiondisposed immediately in rear of the needle opening and adapted toyeildingly c0- operate with a portion of the throat plate for clampingthe enchained thread loops in the stitch formation during chaining.

12. A felling presser foot for sewing machines comprising a supportingshank, a foot portion pivoted to said shank, said foot portion having aneedle opening therethrough and a channel in its under face at theforward end thereof disposed so as to receive and guide the interfoldedportions of the felled seam, said foot portion having a substantiallyflush surface at the rear end thereof, and a yielding portion disposedimmediately in rear of the needle opening and adapted to move to aposition substantially flush with the top of the channel during fellingand to a position flush with the bottom of the presser foot, or

below the same, for yieldingly clamping the enchained thread loopsagainst the throat plate in the stitch formation during chaining.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature.

' JOSEPH BERGER.

